Grief in the Workplace

Coping With Grief in the Workplace

The loss of a colleague may be extremely disruptive and difficult to handle. Gratefully, more and more administrators are keyed in to the psychological and emotional needs of their staff. Over the years, the Center has specialized in facilitating loss situations and coping with grief in the workplace. We have met with schools, religious institutions, and corporations to provide needed guidance through the complexities of losing a cherished friend and colleague. Employees may find their concentration and overall job performance suffer in the aftermath of a death at work.

Meaningful conversations, projects, simple chit-chat with a colleague may be left cut-off and unfinished. For younger staff, there is often no template for losing a friend or colleague resulting in confusion, poor coping strategies, and absenteeism. Managers may not have the knowledge base or skills to help staff begin to process the loss in a meaningful way. Hiring a grief consultant to assist you and your staff in processing and recovering from the loss of a colleague is a smart and compassionate business decision.

Personal Grief Rituals by Paul M. Martin

Oct 24, 2022 | Articles, Communal Grief, Death of a Parent, Death of a Partner, Death of a Sibling, Grief in the Workplace, Grieving Adults, Grieving After a Miscarriage or Still Birth, Grieving and the Holidays, Grieving Children, Helpful Books, Notes from the Center, Resources, Self Care, Suicide and Overdose, When Someone Dies by Suicide

Personal Grief Rituals presents a new model for how bereaved individuals can create unique expressions of mourning that are tailored to their psychological needs and grounded in memories and emotions specific to the relationship they lost. This book examines cultures...

Chicago Tribune: Grief expert urges support for mourning workers

Jan 8, 2019 | Grief in the Workplace, Grieving Adults

“If I had my druthers, (grief training) would be a built-in component to employee orientation,” Fireman said. While the aging population is one source of workplace grief, another is the city’s violence. Fireman’s organization last year counseled students and faculty...

CHICAGO TRIBUNE: Students return today for first time since teacher killed

May 23, 2018 | Articles, Grief in the Workplace, Grieving Adults, Grieving Children

When students return to class at the Chicago Waldorf School Wednesday, their first big test will be coping with the loss of a beloved teacher killed by a stray bullet just half a mile from where she had worked for the last 14 years. “As much as we might like to shield...

How to Cope in the Workplace When an Employee Dies

Nov 28, 2017 | Articles, Grief in the Workplace, Grieving Adults, Self Care

Grief is particularly difficult to manage within the workplace. The two are grossly incompatible. Work takes place in a high-energy environment full of future-oriented developments, and its successes are measured in tangible results within clearly-defined...

Losing Jerry

Nov 9, 2017 | Articles, Grief in the Workplace, Grieving Adults, Psychotherapy and Counseling

As a result of a comment made in reference to my blog entry, "The Howl of Grief," I have decided to share something a bit more personal. In spite of my role as a therapist, I believe there are appropriate ways for myself and other therapists to share personal...

Communal Grief

Nov 9, 2017 | Articles, Communal Grief, Grief in the Workplace, Grieving Adults, Grieving Children, Psychotherapy and Counseling

We are born knowing how to grieve. As children, we cry naturally to feel better, to let go of our pain, to release the burdens of pent-up emotions. It helped us lessen the weight from our shoulders. Positive expressions of grief are helpful to us. It is the lack...

Declaration of Values for Communal Grief

Nov 9, 2017 | Grief in the Workplace, Grieving Adults, Psychotherapy and Counseling

At The Center for Grief Recovery, we work primarily with individuals. But individuals make up groups and groups make up communities. These days we have both physical and virtual communities. As the world around us continues to show signs of chaos, it seems...

Grief in the Workplace: An Outline for Helping

Nov 7, 2017 | Articles, Grief in the Workplace, Psychotherapy and Counseling

How to Help Grief in the Workplace Stop the Action The first step in dealing with a death in an institution or workplace is to stop the normal activities and reschedule so that employees can come together to share their thoughts and feelings. Depending on the...